Foodborne illness is caused by consuming foods or beverages contaminated with illness-causing bacteria, viruses, parasites or toxins.

Other illnesses are poisonings, caused by harmful toxins or chemicals that have contaminated food, for example, poisonous mushrooms.

These different illnesses have many different symptoms.  There is no one "syndrome" (a group of symptoms that collectively characterize a disease) that is foodborne illness.

The microbe or toxin enters the body through the gastrointestinal tract and often causes the first symptoms there.  Therefore, nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps and diarrhea are common symptoms in many foodborne illnesses.